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Julian this morning asked Ministers about the resilience of flood defences, and emphasised the need to remember smaller communities south of York when drawing up flood protection plans. In the House of Commons during questions to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Michael Gove, Julian said: “Hard flood defences like the

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Julian raises uncertain future of York’s Greenbelt in Parliament

June 21, 2013

Yesterday Julian raised his concerns over the future of York’s greenbelt and asked for a parliamentary debate on the issue, in Business Questions in the House of Commons. In his response, the Leader of the House of Commons, Andrew Lansley MP, expressed his support for greenbelts in protecting the character of historic Cathedral cities and said the Council should listen to the views of local residents.

Julian’s request for a debate comes after the City of York Council have announced controversial plans to build 22,000 new homes in York over the next 15 to 20 years, including approximately 16,000 on the greenbelt, as part of their draft Local Plan. 40 wind farms and over 80 Traveller and Showpeople pitches have also been proposed. Julian has been a vocal opponent since the draft Local Plan was first announced in April and has persistently criticised it for being unsustainable and inappropriate for the City of York.

In Parliament yesterday, Julian asked:

“May we have a debate on the protection of our green belt, and in particular on the important role it plays in protecting the character and setting of our historic cities, such as York in my constituency where more than 2,000 acres of green-belt land is under threat from the council’s draft local plan?”

In his response, Mr Lansley said:

“My hon. Friend makes an important point. I know he will have sympathy with other colleagues who have historic cities in a countryside setting in their constituency. That was precisely the description applied to Cambridge when its structure plan was agreed some 10 years ago. The essence of the Government’s localism policy is to give more opportunities for local communities to establish the framework for local planning and development. The Government have given that power to York city council, which is not under the control of our party, and I hope that my hon. Friend is successful in ensuring that it listens to the views of the people he represents.”